Improvement in breech-loading fire-arivjs



Y 3 Sheets-Sheet1. W. RICHARDS.

. A Breach-Loading Fire-Arms( No. 133,665. Patented 930.51872.

3 Shees--Shee 2, W. RICHARDS.

lBr'each-Loading; Fire-Arms. No, 133,665, Patented Dec.3,1872.

@MQW

. 3 Sheets-Sheet3 4 W. RICHARDS. Bree'ch-L'oadingfFire-Arms.' lo.133,665.

Patented Dec.3 1872 Sra'rns Pnrnrv'r Grrion,

IMPROVEMENT IN EREECH-LOADING MRE/ARMS.

Specification forming'part of Letters Patent No. 133,665, dated December3, 1872.

To all who-m it may concern:

Beit known that I, WESTLEY RICHARDS, of Birmingham, in the county ofWarwick, England, gun manufacturer, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements inBreech-Loading and other Fire-Arms; and I, the said WEsTLEY RICHARDS, dohereby declarethe nature of the said invention and in what manner thesame is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained inand by the following statement thereof-that is to say:

My invention relates, first, to breech-loadl ing guns of the kind calleddrop-block gunsthat is, guns in which the breech-block is j ointed atits rear end to the frame or body, the said block descending in the saidbody to open the breech for loading. This part of my invention consistsin constructing and arranging the parts of the said breech-loading gunsin the manner hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying`drawing. The handlever, by which the block is supported and operated andby which the hammer is cocked, is placed at the front of thetrigger-guard, but the acting part oi' the hammer of the gun is situatedimmediately behind, and is acted upon directly by the upper part of thesaid hand-- lever to cock the hammer, as more particularly describedwith reference -to the gun represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 Figure lshowing a longitudinal section of the breech end of the gun, the partsbeing in the positions which they respectively occupy after the gun hasbeen discharged; and Fig. 2, the same when the hammer has been raised tofull-cock preparatory to the discharge oi' the gun. Fig. 3 representsthe breech-block of the gun detached.

The same letters indicate the same parts in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

c is the barrel; b, the body or frame to which the drop-block c isjointed at c2. d d2 is the hand-lever turning on the center d8 forsupporting and operating the drop-block c and for cooking the hammer c,the said hammer being situated immediately behind the upper part d2 ofthe hand-lever d cl2. The center c2, on

which the hammer e turns, is situated directly under the axis or centercl3 of the hand-lever that is, nearly in the'vertical pla-ne in whichthe face c4 of the block c and the base of the cartridge (in the loadedgun) are situated. The axis or center e2 of the hammer is forged solidor in one piece with the hammer. The nose e3 of the hammer e strikesthrough a hole in the face c4 of the block c direct upon the percussioncap of the cartridge. The said nose 63 is made movable or separable fromthe hammer e so that the said nose or striker can be removed for repairor replaced by another. The said movable nose e is screwed into thehammer, its rotation being prevented by a locking-pin. h is themainspring, connected to the hammer e by a swivel. A rubber or tubularbolt, f, pressed upon by a coiled or other spring holds 'the hand-leverd d2 either in the position which it occupies when the lbreech is openor that which it occupies when the breech is closed. The said rubber orbolt f is situated in a lump, b2, at the front end oi' the breech frameor body b. When the breech is closed the rubber f bears upon theshoulder d4 of the handlever. When, however, the breech is opened thesaid rubber bears upon the front of the lever and drops into theconcavity An elevation of the front end of the body or frame b and upperpart of the hand-lever are represented in Fig. 2A. In

the front end of the block c is a curved opening, c, into which theupper arm d of the hand -lever takes to depress and raise the saidblock. e' is the sear for engaging with the bent in the hammer c. i2 isthe searspring.- '3 is the trigger, turning by preference on the samecenter i4 as the sear c'. The lock mechanism-that is, the hammer e e,mainspring h, sear and sear-sprin g t 2, andtrigger t'-are made upon orcarried by the triggerguard land the tang of the said tri ggerguard, sothat the removal of the trigger-guard ldetaches the whole mechanism ofthe lock from the body of the gun.

The action of the gun is as follows: After the discharge of the gun theparts occupy the positions represented in Fig. 1. To open the breech forthe introduction ot' afresh cartridge into the barrel the hand-lever dd2 is moved forward. The irst action of the upper arm dZ of thehand-lever is to press back the hammer e by bearing on the breast oi'the said hammer and withdraw its nose or striker e3 from the` hole inthe face c4 of the block c. The block c is now at liberty to descend.The continued motion of the handlever causes its arm d2 to pass fromunder the face or front end c4 of the block and enter the curved recessc in the said block. The block now descends into the frame or body b andopens the barrel for charging, the hammer e at the same time beingdepressed and cocked by the scar i engaging with the bcnt in the saidhammer, as represented in Fig. 2. During the whole of the motion of thehand-lever to depress the block and cock the hammer the upper arm is incontact with the breast of the said hammer. On bringing the hand-lever dd2 into the position represented in Fig. 2 after the introduction of afresh cartridge into the barrel, the block c is lifted and supported bythe hand-lever so as to close the breech, the cocked hammer being leftbehind. The gun is now ready for discharge. B y pressing the trigger i3the scar 'zi is released from the bent of the hammer e, and the saidhammer is liberated, and, being urged forward by the spring h, its nosee3 strikes through the face of the block c and discharges the gun.

I apply to the gun a safety1ever bolt for preventing the accidentaldischarge of the gun. This 1everbolt is represented in side elevation inFig. 2B and in edge View detached in Fig. 2C. The said bolt is marked 12, and consists of a lever situated outside the body b and turning onthe center 3. The lower arm 2 is turned at right angles to the upper arml,

the extreme end of the said lower arm 2 bea-ring against the side of thetrigger 4. On the trigger 4 is a pin or stud, 5. When the safetyleverbolt l 2 is in the position represented in Fig. 2B the lower arm 2 issituated immediately opposite the pin or stud 5 on the trigger, and thesaid trigger cannot be raised or moved, and the accidentaldischargeofthe gunis there! by prevented. When it is wished to discharge the gunthe safety-lever bolt is turned on its joint 3 into the positionindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, The lower arm 2 of the said bolt isthereby removed from opposite the pin or stud 5, and the trigger can nowbe'raised or moved to discharge the gun. A stud, 6, at the back of thehandle end of the bolt drops into holes in the body b to nx the saidbolt either in the position in which it fastens the trigger or in thatin which it releases the tri gger.

My invention consists, secondly, of the followingimprovements intire-arms: By the rapid discharge of fire-arms, especially of such asare loaded at the breech, the barrel becomes so heated that it can behandled only with great difficulty. The object of this part of myinvention is to obviate this difiiculty and so to protect the hand fromthe heat of the barrel during rapid firin g as to permit the fire-armbeing handled without inconvenience from the heat of the barrel. Thispart of my invention consists of a guard or cover, of wood or otherimperfect conductor of heat, applied to the upper side ofthe barrel andextending a short distance toward the muzzle. The cover may be made inone piece with the fore part of the stock, or separate from the stock.In the lat ter case it may be attached in any convenient way to thebarrel or fore part of the stock, or to the body of the gun.

Fig. 4 represents, in side elevation, a portion of a breech-loading gunprovided with a separate guard or cover according to my invention. Fig.5 is a longitudinal section of the guard or cover detached, and Figs. 6and 7 are cross-sections of the gun taken, respectively, through thelines A B.

The same letters indicate the same parts in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7.

a is the barrel of the gun. b is the fore part of the stock, and c isthe guard or cover, made of Wood and having a semi-tubular figure. Theunder side of the guard or cover c fits upon the upper side of thebreech end of the barrel a, and extends a short distance toward themuzzle end. The edges of the said guard c fit upon the edges of the forepart b of the stock. A hole at c2 is made in the guard or cover c forthe back sight d to pass through. The said guard or cover c is securedin its place on the barrel a by passing the said guard or cover over theback sight d, and making its rear end abut against the body a of thegun. By then slipping the bandf over the contracted fore end c of theguard or cover (see Fig. 7) it is securely fixed to the barrel.

The semi-tubular figure of the guard or cover c, and the manner in whichthe band fis passed over its front end, will be best understood by anexamination of the cross-sections, Figs. 6 and 7. It is necessary toremove the fore part b of thc stock from the barrel to conneet the guardor cover c to or disconnect it from the barrel a'. The guard or covermay only extend to the back sight d, its rear end engaging under a lipon the back sight; or the rear end may be fixed by a cross-pin.

Although I have described and represented the best methods with which Iam acquainted of securing the guard or cover to the barrel, yet I wishit to be understood that the guard or cover may be fastened in a varietyof other ways, which I do not think it necessary to de scribe. Besideswood the guard or cover may be made of ebonite or papier-mache, or otherimperfect conductor of heat.

When a gun is provided with a guard or cover according to my inventionthat portion of the barrel which is grasped by the hand in f use iscompletely covered, and the barrel can thereby be handled in its heatedstate without inconvenience.

M v invention is specially valuable in its application to breech-loading guus, but may also be applied to muzzle -loading guns and topistols.

Having explained the nature of my invention and the manner in which thesame is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as myinvention- 1. The arrangement and combination with the hand-lever d d2of the hammer e, substantially as described and represented in Figs. 1,2, 2A, and 3 of the drawing, the said hammer turning upon an axisimmediately under that on which the hand -lever turns, and being cockedby the direct action of the said handlever.

2. In combination with the breech block and the hand-lever, the hammer chaving its center or axis arranged below and relatively to the center oraxis of the hand-lever, as described, and the lock mechanism connectedtherewith, the said hammer and lock mechanism being mounted on andcarried by the trigger guard and tang, substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

3. In combination with the hand-lever provided with shoulder d4 andconcavity d5, the spring rubber or bolt f, said parts being constructedand arranged for joint operation substantially as shown and described.

4. The improved safety-lever bolt and stud for fixing and releasing thetrigger hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figs. 2B and 2C of thedrawing.

5. The combination,with the barrel of a firearm, of a guard or cover, ofwood or other in1- perfect conductor of heat, for the purpose ofprotecting the hand from the heat of the barrel after rapid ring, thesaid guard or cover being constructed and applied substantially ashereinbefore described and illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 of thedrawing.

WESTLEY RICHARDS. [L s] Witnesses:

GEORGE SHAW, RICHARD SKERRETT,

7 Cannon Street, Birmingham.

